Another deadline missed by far.
Hidden heroes.
The room was almost completly dark. The only light that came into the padded cell was the little light that escaped in through the frame of the closed door. Making it almost impossible to see anything in the empty room. In the corner of it, Liza was sitting with her little brother, Jack.
Both of them were pretty small. Even if the blonde little girl did attend Makeias's meetings and was one of his more powerful warriors, she was still only eleven years old. And even if she was older in her mind, her body was still small. Even smaller though, was her little brother. Jack was only eight years old. His eyes and hair were crystal white and his body thin and feeble. Pushed in against the corner, Jack was completly obscured by his sister's long blond hair.
Liza clutched her little brother hard against her chest. Not letting him move away from her the slightest. The little eight year old would have had no chance to escape her grasp even without her supernatural strength. Even if she was still very young, Liza's strength had developed to be almost as fierce as her temper.
"You have to let me do it." the little boy said meekly.
"Like hell I have to! I won't let you." Liza growled back and held him even tighter.
"But I have to. Daddy would have wanted us to help Makeias."
"Then fuck dad! He left us all his troubles when he died." Liza hissed. "And fuck Makeias too. He has only given us sadness."
"Please Liza." Jack pleaded. "You got all of father's strength. I am just weak and small. This is all I can do."
"To hell with that. All you need to do is stay alive and be safe. You are all that I have left." Liza said and wrapped her legs around her little brother as well.
The smaller boy tried to struggle but Liza was way too strong for him.
"Please."
"No!"
"But I have to do something. I can't just look at you fighting."
"Yes you can!"
"Tom-Tom says that I am the only one who can use the teigu. Please, Liza."
"No!"
Liza looked over her shoulder, towards the door. She could hear steps closing in. And she recognized the voices that her supreme hearing could perceive.
"We are moving out tomorrow morning." she heard Makeias's troubled voice say.
"Is she really going to do it?" she heard Tom-Tom's voice question.
"You better believe it. This isn't the first time she has slaughtered thousands of people to reach her goal."
"So it will be like it was in the old days again?" Tom-Tom said. He sounded deeply bothered. "Isn't it time for us to act? Before this happens."
"I don't know. But we need to have everything prepared. Which is why.."
The door to the dark room opened and light flowed into the room. Momentarily blinding Liza's sight.
"..we have to do this now." Makeias said and walked into the room. Parts of his destroyed coat dragging behind him on the floor. Followed by Tom-Tom. Leaning on his long staff with the owl teigu sitting on his shoulder. It was only the two of them.
Liza turned around towards them. Pushing her struggling little brother in behind her in the corner. Trying to hide him from Makeias's sight.
Makeias eyes adapted to the darkness after some moments. His eyebrows rose slightly as he saw Liza inside the padded cell. He hadn't thought to find her with Jack and he didn't like the fact that she was there.
"Hi there, Liza."
All the answer he got was a vicious glare.
"As much as I enjoy your company, Liza, I have not come here for you. Can your brother come over here?"
"You promised me!" she snarled at him.
Makeias looked at her for some moments. "I have promised a lot of things, Liza. Yet I can't remember what promise you imply that I have broken."
"You said that you would help me protect Jack."
"Giving Jack more power is the same thing as protecting him." Makeias said calmly.
"Fuck off! I have seen what happens to those that goes through your, so called, conditioning."
"It won't hurt for him." Makeias said truthfully. He was well aware what she was talking about. All potential teigu users in his service that were deemed mentally weak or unstable were always brainwashed thoroughly. No exceptions could be made. He took a couple of steps towards her.
Liza backed further into the the corner. Forcing Jack against the wall behind her. "I will kill you if you try to take him from me right now."
Makeias stopped. The growth of Liza's power had been a scary thing to watch. Just during the two year she had been in his service, her strength and proficiency with violence had doubled many times over. If her instincts had been drawn to battle and suffering, she might have been a new Esdese in the making. Luckily she wasn't attracted to those kind of things so she would probably never develop and nurture her grimmer capabilities like the ice queen had.
Nonetheless, Liza did have a dangerous temper. She had always been hard to deal with but during the later days she had grown even more unruly. Makeias was considering if it might be time for her service to come to an end. Before she grew strong enough to actually be a threat to him. Even if just the thought of ending her hurt him greatly.
"I don't think you will, Liza." he said.
"Try me!" the little girl gnarled in response. A threatening smile spreading under her scared eyes.
Makeias was about to take another step towards her when he felt Tom-Tom's giant hand grab his shoulder. The big man walked past Makeias and took some slow and calm steps towards the angry and scared little creature. He crouched down when he reached her. His sad blue eyes meeting her fierce brown ones.
"Liza." he said in a deep and calm voice. "What does Jack want to do?"
"Curse you Tom-Tom!" Liza shouted, starting to lose the little cool she had. "How could you let Jack do this? I trusted you?!"
"Liza..." Tom-Tom said. His voice thick with grief. "We all struggle right now. I couldn't refuse Jack his one chance to make a diffrence."
"By letting him sacrifice his mind to become a weapon?!" she yelled at him.
"We don't know that. He might make it through the treatment." Tom-Tom tried to comfort her.
"Yes we do!" Liza shouted at him. Her eyes starting to fill with furious tears. "He is small and weak. He doesn't know anything about suffering."
One of Tom-Tom's giant hands grabbed her shoulder gently. "He does Liza. You know he does."
She pushed his hand off her. "Shut up! He is frail and powerless! I have to protect him! The world will eat him if I let it!"
"Liza..." ,Tom-Tom's voice was almost a whispered.
"I HAVE TO PROTECT HIM!" Liza screamed and threw a punch against Tom-Tom's face.
Tom-Tom had the sharpest instincts in his whole tribe and his age hadn't dulled them. He could see the the punch coming before she had even started to move her arm. But he didn't avoid it. He knew that a straight hit from her fist to his head could mean his end. But his instincts told him something else as well.
When the fist connected with his face, it lacked any force. Merely pushing his head slightly to the side.
Tears started to flow down Liza's face. "I have to protect him. He will die on his own."
She tried to punch Tom-Tom again but for some reason, she couldn't muster any strenght to her strikes. Her emotions stopping her. The hit accomplishing as little as the previous one.
"I have to defend him." she started to sob. Fiercly wiping away her tears with closed hands. "He is all I have left!"
Tom-Tom could almost feel his old heart break at the sight.
Tom-Tom had always loved children but his wife had sadly been barren. He had still loved her deeply and stayed with her until she was claimed by the war that Makeias brought to their lands. Tom-Tom had been looking after little Jack and Liza during the two years they had been working for the empire. After their father had died when saving Makeias in battle. It had only been two years but he had still come to regard the small children as his own.
His long wooden staff rattled against the floor as he dropped it. Wrapping both his huge arms around Liza as she began to cry loudly. Her sobbing bordering on screaming as she no longer could contain her sorrow. For once being unable to hide the simple fact that she was just an eleven year old girl. Trying and failing to cope with the harsh life she had been alloted. And a world that only seemed like it wished to hurt all the things she loved.
Makeias watched the scene unfold. He wanted to help in some way. To give comfort to them. But he couldn't. He had brought this on them. He had made it all happen. There was only one road left to him now. Only one way to give it a purpose. He stood in silence and watched them. Then he slowly took some steps around them and held out an open hand to Jack. Looking at the little boy with a sad smile.
Jack looked at his sister for some moments and then reached up and grabbed Makeias's hand. They walked out of the room together. Out into the white and bright corridor outside. Liza's wailing followed them. Filled with sadness and despair. The strong little creature at a loss on what she should do.
Jack listened to the cries and then turned his head up to Makeias when he couldn't hear them any longer. "Am I doing the wrong thing?" he asked Makeias. With all the uncertainty of youth.
"No, Jack. You are being vey noble right now." Makeias answered without looking at the boy. His gaze directed forward.
"But I made Liza very sad."
"It is only because she loves you so much." Makeias answered.
Jack turned silent for a little while. Thinking with what little knowledge about the world a eight year old could gather.
"Makeias?"
"Yes?"
"You knew father pretty well. Didn't you?"
"Yeah I did. I grew up with him. He was a close friend."
"Would he think that I was doing the right thing?"
Makeias didn't answer him for a while. The little boy tried to look at his face but Makeias didn't face him. After a long silence, Makeias spoke.
"Jack, why did you register into the teigu testing group?"
"Because I have to do something. Liza is fighting so hard. I have to help."
"Liza is a bit tougher than normal people, Jack. I think she can handle it pretty well."
"No, she can't." the little boy argued determinately."She cries a lot when she thinks I can't hear it. She misses dad as well."
Makeias didn't say anything as the child went on.
"I know that I am weak and small but I must help her. Just because my body is frail doesn't mean that I can let her do everything. Even if I probably won't be the same person after this."
The general looked up at the ceiling. He hadn't thought that Jack were aware of the effects this would have on him. "Heroes come in all sizes, it would seem."
They were silent for a little while as they continued to walk.
"Makeias?"
"Hmm?"
"Would dad think that I am doing good?"
Makeias couldn't make himself look at the boy. Not now. "Your father would be very proud of you, Jack." he managed to say. Leading the child towards his cruel fate. The son of his childhood friend.
Jack noticed that Makeias voice was thick and shaky but nonetheless, the little boy smiled. "Then I am happy."
Makeias didn't look at him but Jack felt how the general's hand squeezed a little bit harder around his own. As they walked to the clinic to brainwash him.
Wave and Kurome were sitting in the dining hall in the jaeger's quarters and eating their lunch when Esdese arrived together with general Gallus. The big man filling up the entire frame of the door as he walked in behind Esdese. Her long cloak flowing behind her. They were followed by a couple of scribes. Wave and Kurome immediately rose up and saluted their superiors. Both of them suprised by the visit.
"Great general." Wave said with a smile. "It is rare to see you here outside of our usual meetings."
"Yeah, I have been pretty busy during the last weeks." Esdese said and gazed at the young man. She looked him up and down a couple of times. Measuring him up with judgemental eyes. She nodded to herself. She was confident in her decision.
She gestured for him to come over with her hand.
"Let me just say that it is a huge honor to meet you ,general Gallus." Wave said as he walked up to the two generals."Your deeds are renowned throughout the empire. Many soldiers regard you as a hero."
The big man smiled humbly at the boy. His hands clasped around each other over his giant belly. "Thank you, my son. Your words are too kind." Gallus answered in a deep and friendly voice. "But I don't hold that belief myself. I am just a single man in a lucky position. It is important to understand that every man is capable of greatness and kindness. Everyone can be a hero. We all possess the human spirit and it's greatness must never be underestimated."
Esdese gave the general a tired look. She had only spent the afternoon with Gallus and his preaching was already starting to bore her. At least Makeias was fun to have around. She nodded to one of the scribes. The man immediately started to take forth some documents.
She turned her eyes to the young man in front of her. "Kneel, Wave."
The boy immediately did as he was ordered. Esdese liked how proud he seemed to be when he did it. She had many people around her that felt honored to be able to kneel at her feet but unlike most of them, she actually respected Wave. The fact that he was so proud to follow her was a compliment that she actually appreciated a little bit. It was time to reward him for that.
"Alright. General Gallus will be acting as witness and affirm my decision. The scribes are present to record this to all the affected institutions." One of the scribes walked up with two documents to Gallus which he signed with an feather dipped in ink. Provided by another scribe.
"I'm sorry to do this to you like this, Wave, but it is necessary for an upcoming operation. You will get a proper inauguration ceremony later. With all the celebration and honor that warrants."
Wave looked up at her with confusion. A hint of fear creeping into his expression.
"Last week we lost one of our more important military officials. Since he refused to denounce Budo during his reinstation. I am sure you know who I am talking about." Esdese said with a hard smile. Looking down at Wave. "I have come here to fill that vacant title. Hopefully."
Wave's jaw dropped. Realizing what was about to happen. The scribes moved up to Esdese and gave her the feather dipped in ink. Holding up the documents for her.
"With general Gallus as witness, I will hereby make full use of the power given to my by the title of great general. Granted to me by the empire." She reached down and signed the two papers."By affixing my signature to these documents, I appoint Wave of the jaegers to the position of admiral over the empire's collected navy."
Wave's eyes widened. Even if he had been able to guess where this was going, it was still slightly shocking to hear those words. Just with a single signature, Esdese had just made him into a general. Not only that, she wanted to make him the empire's admiral. In charge of the entire navy.
She turned her eyes to him. "Wave of the jaegers. Will you serve?"
He stammered his response. "Great general.. Esdese.. I.. I don't know what to say. Are you sure that you don't have someone more capable for this type of job?"
She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled at him."Do you question my judgement?"
"No, of course not." Wave said and looked down at her feet again.
"I could probably find someone that would be more used to this sort of task. But it is you that I want in this position."
"But.. but I have never been in such a big leadership role before. I don't even know much about the imperial navy's administration."
"Leadership is as much about knowing what your limits are, as it is about knowing what you actually can do." general Gallus reassured. "You will meet many challenges as a leader that you just can't solve yourself. A good leader surrounds himself with competent people. Since no single human can do everything themself."
Esdese took one of the two documents and reached out with it to Wave. "Will you serve?" she asked again.
Wave looked at the paper and then at Esdese. Her smile encouraging. He reached up and took the paper from her. The proof of his new rank. "I will do my best, commander."
She nodded at him. "I know you will. Now rise."
Gallus patted Wave on the shoulder as he stood up. "Congratulations, my son. I know you will do well. I look forward to working together with you."
Wave smiled at the big man and then turned his gaze back to Esdese. "What about my jaeger duties? I will not have enough time to work in both roles."
"I am going to disband the jaegers. The group was created in order to deal with night raid and what little threat they pose will now soon be gone." Esdese said nonchalantly.
Wave felt a bit of sadness bubble up in his chest. He had come to identify the jaeger status as both a part of his identity but also the group itself had come to act as a family for him. Even now that there only were three of them left. If he counted Tatsumi. His time in the group had been such a big part of his life. He looked over at Kurome. The girl had remained in the background. Silently standing on the other side of the table. She met his eyes when he looked at her but he couldn't determine the feelings behind her gaze. As usual.
Esdese noticed Wave's sad look at Kurome. "Don't worry. You both still belong to me. I have positions in mind for all three of you jaegers."
Wave looked at Esdese with suprise as she went on.
"You are still among my best subordinates. But I am no longer just a field-general. Now I lead the entire military. If you want to continue working closely under me, then you can no longer just be a special police force. I no longer have time to dedicate myself to such small tasks."
She adjusted her hair with one arm and looked at Wave. "Which is why I put you in control over the navy, Wave. I want my own people in the more powerful positions within the military. I think you will adapt to the task."
Wave felt a little bit torn about the current state of the military. He still hadn't fully recovered from Budo's cruel death and watching some of his friends within the imperial guard get brutually murdered by Esdese. He had always believed in the fairness of the great general and his imperial guard. And while even Budo himself had admitted that he intended to break military law, Wave had still thought that the man seemed just.
Wave couldn't help but also notice how cruel Esdese's overtaking of the rest of the military had been. The last weeks had been a time of fear and uncertainty for the imperial military. But he was still loyal to to her. She had given him so many chances and opportunities and now she had made him into one of the leaders of the military. It was clear that she regarded him as one of her underlings. One of her own. And she took care of her own.
Wave had spent the last three weeks trying to offer reassurance and stability to every part of the military that he had worked with. And now his ability to do so had improved tenfold because of this new rank that Esdese had bestowed upon him. She had given him a chance to make a diffrence. A real diffrence.
He clenched his fist around the document. "Thank you for this, Esdese. Really, thank you." he said with a smile filled with gratitude and emotion.
Esdese could feel the emotions behind his words. Appreciating that her gift had served it's purpose and also made Wave this happy. She even liked the feelings he was emitting enough to ignore the fact that he had left out her rank during what was supposed to be a military meeting.
"Thank me by doing your best while in my service, Wave."
"I always will, great general." he almost shouted and saluted her.
She nodded at him and turned her gaze to Kurome. "I have a spot in mind for you as well, Kurome. Don't think that I have forgotten you."
Kurome looked at Esdese for some moments and then slowly shooke her head. "I would rather stay and work with Wave, commander."
Esdese gave the girl a empty look. She had a pretty good idea of what was going on. "I know that this might sound hypocritical but you should try to seperate your duty from your pastime, Kurome."
"Even so. I work best together with Wave." Kurome said and met Esdese's gaze.
Esdese studied the younger girl for some moments. Her arms still crossed over her chest. If that was the reward she wanted for her good service then Esdese guessed that she could humor Kurome for the time being. "Fine, I will let you work as Wave's bodyguard for now but I might force you into a diffrent position later on. And now I will give the title that would be your reward to Tatsumi instead."
Kurome seemed completly indiffrent to that. She just nodded at Esdese. "Thanks, commander."
Esdese turned her attention back to Wave. "Now we have some rather important things to discuss, admiral. The reason why I made this promotion so informal is because I will be conducting a big operation tomorrow that requires the empire's navy. So I need to discuss some classified imformation with you."
"Okay?" Wave said. His new job beginning faster that he had anticipated."What is the operation?"
Esdese smiled at him."We are going to visit the port city of Garu."
Akame slipped through the busy street. Robes covering everything but her eyes as she walked through the crowd. Not drawing any attention to her. Invisible in plain sight.
The sun scorched down on the lively trade city. There was not a cloud to be seen and Akame started to wish that she had some way to disguise herself that didn't require so much cloth. She had to completly conceal her appearance since her resemblance was well known among the agents of the empire. And those could be hiding anywhere.
She moved into a less crowded street and then entered an old and abandoned storage house. Finding the trap doors and moving down several small stairs. After identifying herself to hidden guards, she found herself in the lounge room of their temporary hideout.
The room wasn't that big. The hidden area under the storage house didn't offer that much in regards to comfort or luxury. But it had served their organization well and was deemed one of their safer hideouts. The room was dimly lit and had a sofa and some weapon racks and drawers in it. There were some people walking around in the hideout. Diffrent agents and informers of the revolutionary army.
Najenda was sitting on the sofa in the middle of the room. Papers spread out over a table in front of her. She nodded to Akame as she walked up to her. Najenda had an agent of the revolutionary army sitting beside her. A young boy. Helping her organize the papers.
"Did everything go well?" Najenda asked.
"Yeah, they are both doing their best. But I don't know if any of them will be able to use a teigu in the end."
Najenda nodded again. "We will just have to see. They have trained to become members for a long while now. They will soon have to test their abilities in a real scenario."
Akame looked down on the papers as she began to take off some of the cloth obscuring her face. "News?"
"Yup." Najenda said and gestured to the papers in front of her. "Troubling ones at that."
"Tell me." Akame said and took of the last of her excess clothing. Revealing her usual attire hidden under her disguise.
"Well, first of all, our spies say that the imperial army is sending a considerable force to this city. A large part of the imperial fleet has also began gathering to this position."
"Any confirmed reason?"
"The given order is that there is going to be an inspection of the navy but I am not fully convinced."
"Have they announced who it is that will be leading the ground forces over here?"
"No and that is the first thing that is weird. At first I guessed that they were coming here to announce the new admiral of the empire. Since Esdese killed the last one a week ago, if our sources are to be believed. That would explain why this has been so sudden. But if that is the case, then why are they converging here instead of one of the two larger port cities? And why are they keeping who will be leading this operation a secret?"
"Do you think they have been able to find out that we have been hiding here the last weeks?" Akame asked.
"Maybe. It's hard to be sure. They could just be gathering here because of logistical reasons and they might just not have decided on who will be leading the operation yet."
"But you don't think so?"
Najenda shook her head. "Esdese runs the show now. I doubt that she would be indecisive in her orders. Though I will admit that my sucpicions are based on a gut feeling more than anything."
"Can't we just go into hiding like we have done before then." the agent sitting beside Najenda asked.
"Well, that is what we will have to do, either way. We can't leave the city just yet. Not now that we have finally managed to establish contact with the one in the sea."
"How is the training of the beast going?" Akame asked.
"I am almost hesitant to call it a dangerbeast." Najenda said. "Since it is intelligent enough to communicate with us on such an advanced level. But our communications are going smoothly. We seem to have been able to establish that we are allies now. The next step is to convince it to leave the ocean to come and fight for us."
"How long do you think it will take to do so?" Akame wondered.
"Hard to say. It does consider us as it's friends already and would be willing to fight with us but I am unsure of how far inland it is willing to travel. Since it has lived in the ocean it's entire life."
"Have you seen the beast, Akame?" the younger boy asked. His eyes filled with wonder.
Akame nodded to him. "It is the biggest living creature I have ever seen. It is quite terrifying actually."
"It is worth the risk of staying here." Najenda said and leaned back. Picking out a cigarett from a pocket. "Some well timed and well cordinated raids with that beast on our side could lay wast to entire legions of imperial soldiers. As long as we can protect it from a few troublesome teigu users."
"So we are staying?" Akame said.
"Yeah." Najenda said and lit her cigarett. "It is risky but we are pressed into a corner. We need to take risks if we are going to be able to turn the tide of this war. Unless we can pull of some crazy moves like this, we have already lost."
Akame nodded. "Talking about risky moves..."
Najenda looked slightly annoyed."No, we haven't heard anything new from our newest member yet. He is still inside the palace in the capital. Allegedly."
"I still don't like that he became a member before anyone but you coud meet him." Akame said with an empty voice.
"This is a military operation. Not a secret club. I call the decisions." Najenda said in a hard voice.
"I know that." Akame defended. "I don't object to your judgement in regards to making him a member. But giving the man a teigu when he has only been a part of our organization for a couple of weeks is a big risk."
Najenda smiled at Akame. Her voice turning a bit more gentle. "I know, Akame. But as I said, we have take risks now. And besides, it is all in order to save Leone."
"Do you trust the boy fully then?"
Nejanda slowly shook her head as she looked at her old friend."No, I do not. In many ways, his mission to save Leone will be his test. Yet I am willing to throw away a teigu for a chance to save Leone. Especially since it's earlier user was killed some months ago and we still haven't been able to find a replacement."
"Yet this boy showed full compability with it immediately?" Akame asked.
"Yeah, it was almost eerie how well it worked with him. If it hadn't been such a complete resonance between him and the teigu, I would not have given it to him. Considering that Bulat died to bring down the original owner of that teigu."
Akame still looked doubtful but kept her mouth shut. Najenda leaned forward a bit and spoke ni a more silent voice."You have followed my lead through all these years Akame. Trust me in this, as you have trusted me before."
Akame looked at her superior for some moments and then nodded. "You said that he had experienced the cruelty of the empire himself already?"
"Yeah, I had some of our sources verify his story and it seems like he had a couple of his closer friends tortured to death by Esdese herself. After they had tried to punish one of her subordinates who in turn had killed one of their friends before that. It seemed like he has had enough of injustice after that blatant favoritism. Despite the fact that he had managed to climb rather high up in the military."
"When will he attempt to break her out?"
"Tonight. If everything has gone as he has planned during these last weeks. First he will attempt to get Lionelle and then he will try to free Leone. Some of our agents are waiting to help him out as soon as he leaves the center of the capital with her."
"Both the teigu and Leone? That is quite ambitious. Don't you think he is biting of more than he can chew?"
"I have no idea, honestly. He has a very useful teigu in his possesion now. So maybe. Anyway, all we can do is wait and hope."
Akame sighed. She hated feeling this restless. She walked over and sat down beside Najenda. "I wish we could do more right now."
"I know what you mean." Najenda said and blew out some smoke. "We should have some drinks later tonight. We all need to relax now and then."
Akame gave her superior a faint smile. "Yeah. That would be nice. Besides, it might be our last time to relax for a while."
The corridors of the inner palace had started to grow a bit more desolate as Tatsumi moved to meet up with Wave. The day was growing late and the sun had started to set. The light shining in through the windows growing weaker.
Tatsumi wore his brown cloak and had Incursio strapped over his back. He moved as quickly as he could without drawing unwanted attention to himself. He was already very nervous. But this could wait no longer. He had to do this tonight. He had to free Leone.
He had tried to seem as apathetic as he could during the times when he had asked Esdese about what she had done on her little free time these last weeks. Hoping that she would mention what she had been doing in the torture chambers. Hoping to learn about what had happened to Leone so far. But Esdese had not gone into anymore detail than just telling him that she had spent some time in the torture chambers.
He couldn't be more specific in his questions or else it might seem suspicious. Troubling enough, Esdese's wits had always been rather sharp. She would probably start to connect the dots if Leone escaped after Tatsumi had started to ask questions about her. So he didn't know exactly how bad Leone's condition was. He was hoping that he was not too late but he didn't know. He had to try nonetheless though. He owed her that much at least.
He had postponed this far longer than he had originally intended but he had been forced to do so for several reasons. He had planned to solve this as soon as Esdese became the great general. Since now, only the emperor held could order her around. Which meant that the prime minister was the only real enemy for Tatsumi. Everyone else would not be able to sway Esdese's decisions. So Tatsumi knew that if he was discovered, then he would still be allowed to live. He would probably live the rest of his life chained up in one of Esdese's rooms but he would live. And life was full of possibilities. Everything he had planned would still have a chance to come to fruition as long as he was still alive.
So he had planned to free Leone three weeks ago when Esdese took over the military but he had been unable to do so. Simply because he had been to busy. He had been assigned high profile tasks every singel day and Esdese had demanded his presence during the nights. Somebody would always notice if he was gone for an hour or two. And if Leone was freed during those hours then the accusations would follow quickly.
Not that he wouldn't be on the suspect list either way. But now Esdese was great general and unless there was some strong proof against him, she would not allow anything to happen to him. And he would leave no such evidence.
He only had one real threat right now, Tatsumi reflected as he walked down some long stairs.
The prime minister.
During Budo's short lived rebellion, Tatsumi had realized that the prime minister was on his trails. The fact revealed by Izou attacking him out of nowhere when Esdese wasn't around. That order could only have come from one place.
But to Tatsumi's dismay, he hadn't been able to find out anything else during these last three weeks. The prime minister was a master of deceit and manipulation. He left no trails and no clues about what he was planning or thinking. Tatumi had used all of his resources and contacts yet nothing had given any results. Nothing seemed to indicate that the prime minister wanted him dead. But Tatsumi was certain that he did.
And that told Tatsumi a couple of things. It meant that the prime minister knew that Tatsumi was up to something but he probably didn't know the specifics. If he had been aware of what Tatsumi was trying to do more specifically, then he would have simply revealed it to Esdese and then it would be over. But Esdese hadn't been more inquisitive about Tatumi's whereabouts than usual these past weeks. So Tatsumi could probably assume that the prime minister didn't have any evidence against him. Yet.
But Tatsumi had started to look over his shoulder a bit more than usual now. He still didn't know what the prime minister had in store for him. And he still didn't know if he had a leak somewhere. He suspected that someone was informing the prime minister about him but he didn't know who. Which was a huge disadvantage in this insidious battle of information between him and the prime minister.
Most people would probably say that it was a very risky move to try and save Leone right now but it didn't matter. He had to do this. He owed her this. He had to take a risk and try. She deserved that much from him.
He had fixed his alibi for the night already. Several sources would attest to seeing him walking around down in the whoring districts. An area where most people tried to be discreet and don't attract attention. And he had seen to it that Esdese would be occupied this night. Or so he hoped. He had left that task to his friend.
He walked into another corridor and caught sight of said friend. Wave was standing at the end of the room. Leaning against the wall.
Tatsumi called out his name but Wave didn't react. He was staring down on his boots with his hands in his pockets. Tatsumi walked up to him. His friends apperance worried him.
Wave looked like he had seen a ghost. He was pale and his gaze was empty. He looked really vacant. Like his mind and feelings were somewhere very far away.
"Hey, are you okay?" Tatsumi said and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. Wave jumped a bit into the air when Tatsumi touched him. His eyes suddenly focusing on him.
"Ah.. oh, hi Tatsumi. How are you?" he said. Stumbling over his words.
"I don't think that is the big question right now. Has something happened, Wave? You look like you're on your way into a psychological shock."
"No, don't worry about it Tatsumi. It's nothing." Wave said dismissively. Completly unconvincing.
Tatsumi didn't let go of Wave's shoulder. "It's clearly something." he objected.
Wave straigthened up. "Let's not talk about it, Tatsumi."
"Wave, you're obviously not okay. What has happened?" Tatsumi insisted.
"Nothing has happened, Tatsumi." Wave said. Not yet, he thought.
"Wave." Tatsumi demanded.
"Okay, let me rephrase myself then, Tatsumi." Wave said. Looking annoyed. Tatsumi liked that much better. For some moments he thought that his friend was falling down into a trauma-induced shock but the capacity for irritation indicated that Wave's state was not that bad.
"It's not that I don't want to talk to you about whats troubling me." Wave said. "I literally can't. I am ordered not to."
Which means that someone higher ranked than a jaeger is imposing silence on you, Tatsumi reasoned. Still unaware of his friend's recent promotion.
"You will find out what it is that is troubling me sooner or later. But not from me right now." Wave concluded.
Tatsumi didn't like the sound of that at all. Considering his troubles with the prime minister lately. But he decided to put focus on the task at hand. "Will you still be able to help me with this, Wave? If you're not up for it then I want to know it. I would prefer to call this off if you aren't feeling very stable right now."
"No, I can do it." Wave said and took his hands out of his pockets. "This is important to you, right?"
"Yeah. It really is."
"Then let's do it!" Wave said and punched his fist into his hand.
Tatsumi nodded and they started walking down the corridor.
Tatsumi had told Wave that he needed a night alone in order to regain some of his strength. Telling the other boy that he wanted a chance to visit some friends that had fallen out of fortune with the new order of the military. That was the lie that he had constructed in order to request for Wave to buy him a night with some sort of distraction. And Wave had bought it. He had already been looking for a chance to help Tatsumi in some way.
Tatsumi didn't know what kind of distraction Wave had in mind but he trusted his friend in this. He had worked long enough with Esdese to know what would work and how far he should try to push his luck with.
"Do you have any idea of where she is right now?" Tatsumi asked.
"She should be down in the torture chambers right now. Dealing with that woman from the four demons.. what was her name again?"
Tatsumi heart almost skipped a beat at those words but he didn't show anything. "Suszuka was her name, I think. How do you intend to distract her?" he asked. Trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. If Esdese was going to be in the torture chambers this night then he might as well call this off right now. As long as she was down there, setting Leone free would be impossible.
"I am going to challenge her to a duel." Wave said with a cocky smile.
Tatsumi just stared at him for a long while. His expression empty. "Please tell me I heard wrong."
"Don't think you did, man. I am gonna demand a sparring match with her."
"Have you hit your head on something, Wave?"
"Ohh it won't be that bad, Tatsumi. Besides, this is the only way. She is usually down in the torture chambers around this time of the day. It would be hard to draw her out of there without putting something like this on the table."
Tatsumi couldn't deny Wave's logic. Fighting was one of the few things that could draw her attention away from torture. "I hope you know what you're doing, Wave."
"Don't worry. I know how far to push her. I won't be insulting her or anything. I will just need to be very enthusiastic in order to get her to come with me."
"That dosen't sound reassuring at all. Besides, Wave, a match between you and her will be over pretty quickly. I had hoped you would buy me some more time than that."
"As I said, don't worry about it, Tatsumi. There will be a few... hindrances on our way to the training halls and then I have some ideas of how to make her want to prolong the match."
Tatsumi didn't like this plan but it was far too late to back down now. "Don't push yourself to hard. I would prefer if you didn't get any serious damage while doing me a favour."
"I trust the commander. Either way, Kurome will be there as well. I think it will be fine. " Wave said. Sounding a little bit too relaxed for Tatsumi's liking.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Tatsumi said as they walked on. They finally reached the point where Tatsumi couldn't follow Wave without looking like he was heading towards the torture chambers himself. After some quick good luck wishes, they parted ways. Tatsumi walked on for a little while. Passing a couple of corners. Then, when he was sure that no one was around, he activated Incursio and turned himself invisible.
He doubled back as silently as he could. He caught up to Wave just as the other boy was entering the huge doors that led to the torture chambers. Tatsumi decided to stay outside and wait. He jumped up on top off a doorframe in the corridor outside of the entrance. Doing everything he could to conceal his presence. Esdese could almost detect him when he was invisible but only if she completly focused and he was moving around. She wouldn't have any reason to be on edge now and Wave would hopefully be distracting her.
He waited there for almost half an hour. He had expected that it would take a little while before they would come out since Esdese would have to change cloths. Since she usually wore other cloths in the torture chambers. Torture being the messy buisness that it was. But now it had taken a bit too long.
He was starting to wonder if Wave had failed to bait her out when the big doors opened up and Esdese walked out in her uniform. Taking long and brisk steps with Wave following a meter behind her. She seemed to be in quite a good mood.
"I must say that as your commander, I am proud of your courage, Wave. I will reward you by showing you some new things that I have been wanting to try out. Keep your eyes open and you might learn a bit. If you don't dissapoint me, I might even give you some special training after this. If you will still be able to stand, that is." Esdese said without looking back at him.
"Thank you, commander. I look forward to it!" Wave said with gusto. Concealing his fear with faked enthusiasm.
Tatsumi stayed absolutely still as they moved on down the corridor. Heading for the closest training hall. Esdese praising Wave in the most menacing way as their voices slowly faded. It seemed like she hadn't noticed him.
When Tatumi could no longer hear them, he waited for another ten minutes. Then he quickly jumped down on the floor and moved into the torture chambers. Heading for the horrible place that were Esdese's personal torture rooms.
Author's note:
Ok... ok. So this update was delayed with almost four days. I keep promising that I will bring the next chapter in 7 days almost every time yet most chapters ends up being delayed for 2-3 days more than that. I think it is just the reality of my situation right now. So I will now start to say 8-10 days as a standard instead. So the next one will be released in 8-10 days.
Anyway, another transistional chapter. It has been 2 in row now. I hope you are not losing interest. It is necessary for what is to come. A lot of things are about to go down so the coming chapters will be a bit more "action-oriented".
I was too busy to notice it last time but this story now has more than 200 followers. Thanks a lot everyone! I know that it is just an arbitrary number but it still makes me happy. And it gets me fired up to get more done with this story. So thanks a lot for reading, commenting, following and so on.
Take care of each other and have a great day!